


Man versus Monster: The Samurai

by Thesecrethunter



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 01:47:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13043970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesecrethunter/pseuds/Thesecrethunter
Summary: A short battle scene and its pretty much as the title says!





	Man versus Monster: The Samurai

A cloud of dust rose from the ground as he dodged the Oni’s Kanobo. A bead of sweat dripped from his brow. This was by far one of the most dangerous beasts that he had fought in a long time.

He glared at his foe. A giant red-skinned creature; the Oni had foot-long horns protruding from its forehead and fangs that were closer to tusks than teeth. Its eyes were a poisonous yellow and it had a black mane that was matted with the blood and bone of its previous victims.

It wore only a simple animal hide loincloth and the war-club it carried was as long as one of his legs and studded with vicious iron spikes. From the look of it, a single blow would shatter a man’s arm.

He leaned to one side and let a swipe from the club pass him by. A strand of fur from his mantle drifted on the breeze let him know how close the blow came to ending him.

The Samurai left his sword sheathed at his side. It would be no use to him here. To engage in close combat with such a beast would be fatal. Instead, he drew his Yari from his back and let the wrappings fall from the long spear. His only chance to win was to keep the Yokai at a distance and strike from that range.

A short jab first, to test the beasts reactions, then a slash at its midsection to force it further back. The Oni roared at him and he could smell rotting meat on its fetid breath. It thrust the Kanobo at his chest, hoping to force him backwards and off balance where he would make an easier target but he caught the blow on the haft of his spear and slipped beneath it to stamp at its knee. A grunt of pain let him know that his heavy armoured boots had done some damage at least.

Breaking contact, he slipped to the side and around behind the Oni. He thrust at its back, piercing a small way through its leathery hide. He dragged his embedded blade across its back, scoring the beast from the stab wound to its hip.

The Oni roared in pain and lashed out wildly. The flailing creature caught him a lucky blow across the chest with one claw-tipped arm. A groan escaped him. His breastplate took the worst of the blow, but he could feel the bruising on his ribs forming already and worse again, his breastplate was ruined. The blow had caved in one side of it. The armour had saved his life this time but it wouldn’t survive a second strike from the Oni’s monstrous strength.

He slipped around another wild swing and undid the clasps on his armour letting it fall to the ground with a thud. In its damaged state, it was more hindrance than help to him.

Without his chest-plate, the only armour he had left were his bracers and greaves leaving him clad only in a woollen robe and his fur mantle. Still, without his breastplate he carried far less weight and that meant that he could compensate for the lack of protection with increased speed and flexibility; even with his bruised ribs.

The Samurai ducked beneath a swing of the spiked club and slashed out with his spear, leaving a long gash along the Yokai’s belly. Blood so dark it was almost black oozed from the wound and splattered the ground at their feet and the Oni bellowed in pain once again.

It was definitely starting to slow down now. The blood-loss and the accumulated damage taking a toll on it as the Samurai methodically took it apart piece by piece, almost surgical in the precision of his strikes. A thrust to the back of the beast’s calf, a slice across its tendons. Each strike was designed to slow and incapacitate the Oni.

He let another blow pass over him as he moved a step to the left. A back-step had the Oni stumbling forward and left him standing at its behind. A rapid thrust to its shoulder joint left its arm useless and the heavy war-club trailing on the ground still clasped in its crippled hand.

A feral roar trailed off into a bestial whine as weakness began to overtake the Yokai. Its life-blood dripped from the many wounds on its body. A strike to the back of its legs brought it to its knees, no longer able to support the weight of it body with its crippled limbs.

The Samurai faced his broken foe and saw the despair and futility in its eyes and for the first time in the battle he spoke, “This is justice beast, for the lives that you have taken and the lands that you have ravaged. You shall find no mercy here. Return to the hell that you came from!”

And so, the Samurai thrust his spear one final time, piercing through the Oni’s throat and tearing it out with a vicious slash, staining the battleground with the dark blood of the beast.

The Oni gave one final gurgle before it fell face down, finally lifeless. A flick of his wrist sent the black blood flying off the tip of his spear and as second flic drew his katana and in one savage strike, he severed the head of the Oni from its shoulders, proof of his kill for his Lord.

He tied the severed head to his saddle of his horse, displaying his victory for all to see and rode off leaving his fallen foe behind, headless in the blood-stained dirt without even a second glance or a thought to spare.    


End file.
